© Student Handouts,

By, Sunil Talekar, Faculty, SOFT-Pune NEEDLE

Contents

1. The basic functions of a needle

2. Needle Parts: Physical characteristics

3. Needle Identification

4. Round Point Needles

5. Needle Size / Thickness

6. Comparison of Equivalent Needle Sizes

7. Common Problems and Solutions

8. Needle Checklist

9. Checking a Needle that is already in a Machine

Functions of the needle

• To produce hole in the material

• To carry the needle thread through the

material and there form a loop

• To pass the needle thread through the loop

SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE

SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE PARTS

• BUTT

• SHANK

• SHOULDER

• LONG GROOVE

• SHORT GROOVE

• EYE

• NEEDLE POINT

• SCARF

• BLADE

PARTS OF THE NEEDLE

SEWING NEEDLE PARTS

SHOULDER

• Intermediate between shank and the blade

• It is also called shaft

SHANK

• upper part of the needle

• may be cylindrical or have a flat side.

• larger in diameter than the rest of the needle for reason

of strength

BUTT

• The end of the needle

• The butt determine the length of the needle when it is

fully inserted into the needle bar of the sewing machine.

SEWING NEEDLE PARTS

BLADE

• Below the shoulder of the blade to the eye of the needle

• Longest part of the needle.

• Accommodates the groove, the eye and the scarf.

• The blade reduces the fabric resistance as the needle point

and its eye passes through the fabric

• Greatest amount of the friction .

SEWING NEEDLE PARTS

LONG GROVE

• Slit above needle eye, should be large enough to "cradle"

thread for smooth stitches.

• Provides a protective channel in which the thread is drawn

through.

• A Correctly shaped long groove of a depth matched to the

thread diameter, offers considerable protection to the thread.

SHORT GROOVE

• It extends a little above and below the eye

• Its function is to assist in the formation of the loop in the

needle thread.

SCARF

• Concave section above the eye of the needle

• Indentation at back of needle.

• A long scarf helps eliminate skipped stitches by allowing bobbin hook to

loop thread more easily.

SEWING NEEDLE PARTS

EYE

• Hole in end of needle through which thread passes.

• The hole through which the thread pass

• Eye is located below the scarf

• Needle size and type determine size and shape of eye.

SEWING NEEDLE PARTS

Point: minimizes the damage of the fabric

SEWING NEEDLE AND THREAD

IF THE NEEDLE IS TOO SMALL FOR THE THREAD

• Thread will not pass freely through the eye

• Thread will not fit properly into the long groove.

• Thread will suffer from excessive abrasion.

• Can lead to costly thread breakages in production.

IF THE NEEDLE IS TOO LARGE FOR THE THREAD

• There will be poor control of the loop formation which may cause

slip stitches.

• It will create holes in the fabric which are too big for the stitches

and give an unattractive seam appearance.

• Tends to give rise to damaged fabric along the stitch line, and in

closely woven fabrics, pucker along the seam line due to fabric

distortion.

Most machine needles will

look similar but they will

differ in their tips:

Set/Spear point - These are

used for most woven fabrics.

NEEDLE POINTS

Ball point - These have a

rounded tip and are used for

knitted fabrics. The rounded

end allows the needle to

separate the yarns without

cutting them, which reduces

the chance of the fabric

laddering.

Wedge point - These are

designed to cut a hole as they

penetrate the fabric. They are

used for machining leather

and plastic materials.

SLIM SET POINT

SET POINT

HEAVY SET POINT

SPEAR NEEDLE POINT

LIGHT BALL POINT

MEDIUM BALL POINT

HEAVY BALL POINT

BALL NEEDLE POINT

CLOTH POINT NEEDLE

BALL POINT

NEEDLE

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT NEEDLE POINTS

NEEDLE POINT

NEEDLE POINT

Slim Set Point also referred to as acute

round point (SPI)

* This point is used for dense woven fabrics as it

causes less damage, helps set a straighter stitch

and minimizes seam pucker.

* Commonly used for microfibre and densely

woven fabrics, coated materials, topstitching of

collars and cuffs in shirts.

NEEDLE POINT

Set Cloth Point also referred to as normal round

point (R)

This point is used for normal fabrics with standard

seams as it pushes the yarn to the side.

NEEDLE POINT

Light Ball Point (SES)

This point is used for sewing lightweight knitted

fabric. It is sometimes used for fine denim and light,

densely woven material to avoid damaging the

material.

NEEDLE POINT

Medium Ball Point (SUK)

This point is used for sewing medium weight knitted

fabric. It is also used for medium to coarse denims,

particularly sand-washed and stonewashed grades

NEEDLE POINT

Heavy Ball Point (SKF)

This point is used for coarse knitwear and for

sewing dense woven elastic (it won’t push the elastic

yarn through).

NEEDLE POINT

Special ball point (SKL)

Used for medium to course elastic materials with

covered elastomeric threads and very coarse

knitwear.

NEEDLE POINT

CUTTING POINTS OVERVIEW

NEEDLE POINT

NEEDLE POINT

Cutting Point Needles

• Cutting point needles have sharp tips like blades.

• These tips are available with a wide variety of cross-

sectional shapes such as lens, rounded, triangular and

square.

• They can be used while sewing dense, non-fabric based

material.

• They pierce the material more readily than the round point

types thereby generating less needle heat.

• There are a large number of cutting points of which around

11 are in regular use.

CUTTING POINTS SPEAR

NEEDLE POINT

CUTTING POINTS WEDGES

NEEDLE POINT

The size of a needle is generally represented

in one of two ways (although there are

others).

One method is by a number metric (Nm).

This represents the diameter of the needle

blade in hundredths of a millimetre

measured just above the scarf but not at any

reinforced part of the blade.

NEEDLE SIZE / THICKNESS

For example, a Nm 110 needle is 1.1

millimetre in diameter, while a Nm 50

needle is half a millimetre in diameter.

The thickness of the blade on the right

is 1.1mm wide which is shown in Nm

as 110.

The alternative standard needle sizing

method is the Singer/Asia numbering system

sometimes referred to as the American

system that uses a number that represents a

size.

NEEDLE SIZE / THICKNESS

Here’s a quick way to determine if the thread and the sewing machine needle are

compatible:

1. Take half a metre of the thread being used on the machine and thread it through

the eye of a loose needle.

2. Hold the thread vertically with the needle at the top.

DETERMINING THE RIGHT NEEDLE FOR A

THREAD

If the needle is too big, it will drop to the bottom of the thread

If the needle is too small, it will stick at the top of the thread

If the needle is the right size, it will slowly spiral to the bottom of the

thread

• Always ensure the needle is the correct needle system for

the sewing machine

• Make sure the needle size / eye fits the thread size being

used

• Make sure the needle is pushed all the way into the needle

holder

• Ensure that the angle of the needle is correct

• After inserting a needle in the machine turn the machine

hand wheel manually to make sure the needle isn't

contacting any parts

NEEDLE CHECKLIST

INSERTING A NEW NEEDLE

• Is the needle inserted correctly?

• Is the needle contacting any machine parts?

• Is the needle bent?

• Is the eye rough or blocked with melted fibre?

• Is the point damaged?

• When in doubt change the needle!

CHECKING A NEEDLE

THAT IS ALREADY IN A MACHINE

Uses: Safest needle choice for most fabrics.

Configuration: Has slightly rounded point and

elongated scarf to enable almost foolproof meeting of

needle and bobbin hook.

Troubleshooting: When fabric is not medium-weight

woven, consider needle specifically suited to fabric. For

example, size 18 universal needle works on heavy

denim, but size 18 jeans needle works better.

UNIVERSAL NEEDLE

Uses: Ballpoint needle for heavier, looser sweater

knits; stretch needle for highly elastic fabrics, like

Spandex, or Lycra.

Configuration: Both have rounded points that

penetrate between fabric threads rather than pierce

them. (Stretch-needle point is slightly less rounded than

ballpoint.)

Troubleshooting: Test-stitch knits with ballpoint,

stretch, and universal needles to see which doesn't cut

yarn and yields best results. If ballpoint skips stitches,

try stretch needle.

BALLPOINT & STRETCH NEEDLES

Uses: Sewing microfiber, silk, synthetic leather;

precisely stitching edges; and heirloom sewing.

Configuration: Has an acute point.

Troubleshooting: Essentially trouble-free, but fabric

may require a Teflon, roller, or even/dual-feed presser

foot.

MICROTEX & SHARP NEEDLES

Uses: Excellent for sewing natural leather.

Configuration: Has slight cutting point (almost like

an arrowhead).

Troubleshooting: On synthetic leather, unless it's

very heavy synthetic, cuts rather than pierces stitch

hole and can tear leather. Most synthetic leathers

require Microtex or sharp needle.

LEATHER NEEDLE

Uses: For heavyweight denim, duck, canvas, upholstery

fabrics, artificial leather, and vinyl.

Configuration: Has deeper scarf, acute point, and

modified shaft to sew without pushing fabric down into

needle-plate hole. Goes through fabric and meets

bobbin hook better on dense woven fabrics.

Troubleshooting: If stitches skip when sewing very

heavy fabrics, try larger needle and sew more slowly or

walk needle through fabric (by turning hand crank).

DENIM (JEANS) NEEDLE

Uses: Enables easier threading for sewers with vision

problems.

Configuration: Universal needle with slip-in

threading slot at the eye.

Troubleshooting: Always pull sewn piece back away

from needle before cutting thread so needle doesn't

unthread. Needle works well on woven fabrics, but may

occasionally snag knits, so test-sew to check for fabric

and needle compatibility.

HANDICAP/SELF THREADING NEEDLE

Uses: Hemstitching or heirloom embroidery on linen

and batiste.

Configuration: Has fins on sides of shank to create

holes as you sew.

Troubleshooting: Stitch is more effective when

needle returns to same needle hole more than once.

HEMSTITCH (WING) NEEDLE

Uses: Topstitching, pin tucking, and decorative

stitching.

Configuration: Two needles on single shaft produce

two rows of stitches. Measurement between needles

ranges from 1.6mm to 6mm, and needles come with

universal, stretch, embroidery, denim, and Metallica

points.

Troubleshooting: Be sure throat plate allows for

distance between needles

TWIN (DOUBLE) NEEDLE

TRIPLE NEEDLE

Uses: Same uses as for double needle.

Configuration: Cross bar on single shaft connects

three needles to sew three stitching rows. Comes with

universal point in 2.5mm and 3mm widths.

Troubleshooting: Same as for double needle.

SPRING NEEDLE

Uses: Free-motion stitching with dropped feed dogs.

Configuration: Has wire spring above point to

prevent fabrics from riding up onto needle, eliminating

need for presser foot.

Troubleshooting: Before using, practice free-motion

stitching with heavy regular needle, paper, and dropped

feed dogs. Don't pull paper/fabric; instead gently guide

it through stitching. Wear safety glasses for free-motion

work, since needles often break.

Thanks